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Mid-urethral sling may reduce risk of urinary incontinence after surgery

For many adult women, supporting tissues in and around their vagina weaken to the point where the bladder and other organs descend from their normal position, creating a hernia into the vaginal wall known as pelvic organ prolapse. One in five women will undergo surgery to repair such prolapse.

22 Jun 2012

Selenium reduces Staph populations in medical implants

Selenium is an inexpensive element that naturally belongs in the body. It is also known to combat bacteria. Still, it had not been tried as an antibiotic coating on a medical device material. In a new study, Brown University engineers report that when they used selenium nanoparticles to coat polycarbonate, the material of catheters and endotracheal tubes, the results were significant reductions in cultured populations of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, sometimes by as much as 90 percent.

22 Jun 2012

DBS can improve muscle symptoms in patients with Parkinson's

Patients with Parkinson's disease who undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS)—a treatment in which a pacemaker-like device sends pulses to electrodes implanted in the brain—can expect stable improvement in muscle symptoms for at least three years, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs study appearing in the most recent issue of the journal Neurology.

22 Jun 2012

RPCI shares information on two new electronic platforms

Embracing the expanded possibilities of how people are receiving their information in a technological age, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is sharing information on two new electronic platforms: a digital edition of its Roswellness consumer magazine and a mobile website optimized for smartphone users.

22 Jun 2012

MCN Learning launches new Pain Scale app for Google Android users

MCN Learning, an internationally-recognized leader in healthcare education, announces the launch of the MCN Learning Pain Scale application for the Google Android mobile operating system.

22 Jun 2012

Midurethral slings can prevent pre-operative urinary incontinence in women with vaginal prolapse

A multicenter study involving a UT Southwestern Medical Center urogynecologist will eliminate some of the guesswork physicians face about whether to use a sling during vaginal prolapse repair to prevent urinary incontinence.

21 Jun 2012

Health providers already raking in millions in HIT incentive funds

News outlets are detailing the incentive payments health care providers in Arizona and Kansas have received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for instituting standardized electronic health records.

21 Jun 2012

Largest study to examine impact of gastric sleeve surgery on pre-transplant obese patients

Morbidly obese patients with end-stage organ failure may improve their chances for successful organ transplantation after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, according to a new study presented here at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

21 Jun 2012

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to Medgenics’ INFRADURE Biopump

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of Biopump, a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced that its INFRADURE Biopump has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) for the treatment of hepatitis D.

21 Jun 2012

Ceram publishes white paper on multi-substituted hydroxyapatite

As part of its ongoing work on biocompatibility and bioactivity of Hydroxyapatite (HA), Ceram, the materials technology company, has published a new white paper, ‘Multi-Substituted Hydroxyapatites and the Role They Can Play in Enhanced Bone Replacement Solutions’.

21 Jun 2012

Illumina launches RapidTrack WGS service

Illumina, Inc. today launched the RapidTrack Whole Genome Sequencing Service, a new offering in its FastTrack Sequencing Services operation that delivers a whole human genome in less than two weeks.

From Illumina, Inc. 21 Jun 2012

New robotic device can improve detection of breast cancer

One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. Lorraine G. Olson, professor of mechanical engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, was diagnosed in 2005 at the age of 45. Fortunately, her breast cancer was caught early from a routine mammogram, but like many women, she was prodded by her physician to do the exam.

21 Jun 2012

Gold nanoparticles with slight positive charge work collectively to unravel DNA's double helix

New research from North Carolina State University finds that gold nanoparticles with a slight positive charge work collectively to unravel DNA's double helix. This finding has ramifications for gene therapy research and the emerging field of DNA-based electronics.

21 Jun 2012

Deep brain stimulation remains an effective treatment for Parkinson's

A "brain pacemaker" called deep brain stimulation (DBS) remains an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease for at least three years, according to a study in the June 2010 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Jun 2012

MountainView Hospital first in Nevada to use Xenex’s room disinfection device

In an ongoing effort to improve patient safety, MountainView Hospital today announced it is the first hospital in Nevada to use Xenex Healthcare Services' innovative germ-zapping room disinfection technology to keep patients even safer from infections.

21 Jun 2012

FDA approves CDC DENV-1-4 Real Time RT PCR Assay to treat dengue

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a new diagnostic test to detect the presence of dengue virus in people with symptoms of dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever. The test, called the CDC DENV-1-4 Real Time RT PCR Assay, has been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and can be performed using equipment and supplies many public health laboratories already use to diagnose influenza.

21 Jun 2012

Structure of human P-glycoprotein in a moving 3D computer model

A picture is worth 1,000 words when it comes to understanding how things work, but 3D moving pictures are even better. That's especially true for scientists trying to stop cancer by better understanding the proteins that make some chemotherapies unsuccessful.

21 Jun 2012

ECC calls on policy makers across Europe to reduce burden of COPD

As leading figures in respiratory health from across the globe gather in Birmingham for the COPD8 conference ahead of World Spirometry Day, the European COPD Coalition (ECC) is calling on policy makers across Europe to recognise that chronic diseases such as COPD, present as great a threat as the global financial crisis, and is urging collective action.

20 Jun 2012

Fujitsu, NCKU sign MOU to build platform for genomics and bioinformatics research

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), southern Taiwan, and Fujitsu Taiwan LTD. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Monday for building a platform of genomics and bioinformatics research to jointly promote computational biology, cultivate personnel training for bioinformatics, and develop biology analysis software.

20 Jun 2012

Bode introduces new DNA service

Bode Technology (Bode), a leading provider of forensic DNA services, announced today the launch of a new DNA service allowing DNA to be used as an effective crime fighting tool through same-day DNA analysis.

20 Jun 2012